The 5-22 Kings, owners of the worst record in the entire league despite having some talented young pieces, are a genuine disappointment on a number of levels. As Sacramento’s season has spiraled further and further into the abyss, rumors and reports of the seemingly inevitable firing of Paul Westphal have begun to surface. Indications that Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie’s job may also be in jeopardy have arisen as well, which is fairly standard; those with power in the NBA are sure to face a certain amount of heat when their teams are in distress.

However, Kings co-owner Joe Maloof granted both Westphal and Petrie an incredible amount of latitude, according to a recent report from Ken Berger of CBS Sports:

Kings owner Joe Maloof denied a report by CBSSports.com Friday that the team was considering firing GM Geoff Petrie and coach Paul Westphal after 21 losses in 23 games. “There’s nothing going on,” Maloof told CBSSports.com by phone. “Paul Westphal is the coach and Geoff is our general manager. That’s the way it is and that’s the way it’s going to stay.”

When pressed, Maloof said definitively that Petrie and Westphal will be in their positions for the remainder of the 2010-11 season regardless of how many games the team loses. “Yes,” Maloof said. “We’re not making any moves. The answer is yes.”

Coaches are fired and replaced frequently in the NBA, for reasons both fair and unfair. Having this kind of security — even if only until the end of the season — is incredibly rare. Westphal’s team is miserable, and yet Maloof all but gave his guarantee that coach and GM will still be in place by season’s end.

Whether Westphal deserves that luxury is another matter entirely. The team hasn’t performed well on the court, but at this stage in the team’s journey, player development is far more important than win-loss record. As long as the Kings view Westphal’s work with the core of the team (Tyreke Evans, DeMarcus Cousins, etc.) to be beneficial to their long-term outlook, he’s the right man for the job. That is apparently the case, and though Westphal and Petrie’s jobs seem open for evaluation at the end of the year, Joe Maloof is at least approving enough of the tandem’s work to keep them in place until then.

Where’s the Cavaliers down by one point with nine seconds to go in the fourth quarter, Rodney Hood took it upon himself to take what he thought would be the last shot for Cleveland. Hood danced around the defense before finally taking a jumper from the free-throw line, which bounced softly off the rim.

Nance, battling down low for the rebound, worked his way free for a tip-in as time expired.

What counts as collusion these days in the NBA? What counts as tampering? It’s hard to say, but the league office takes a look at each and every comment like the one LeBron James made on Tuesday about New Orleans Pelicans big man Anthony Davis.

Speaking to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, James said it would be incredible if Davis were somehow able to make his way onto the Los Angeles Lakers. This slots into the rumor around the NBA that LA is stockpiling its young core to be able to trade for a player like Davis.

“That would be amazing,” James told ESPN on Tuesday before the Lakers’ 115-110 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. “That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible.”

There’s nothing much here that LeBron said that isn’t factual. Davis is a 5-time All-Star and one of the best players in the NBA, a unicorn not unlike LeBron himself.

The NBA is certainly hoping that the Lakers can get their act together and put a powerhouse around James at Staples Center. How he does it is up for debate, although making comments about current players probably isn’t the best idea. James has been able to keep his mouth shut for the most part, but perhaps talk of Davis is just too tempting.

But was Harden called for a travel by officials? No. At least, not at first.

Video of Harden’s ridiculous shuffle was circulated on social media after the Houston Rockets beat the Utah Jazz, 102-97. Harden was asked about the move by media, and said that he wasn’t going to tell on himself, which is fair enough.

On Tuesday the official NBA referee Twitter page decided to comment on the play at hand, admitting that they had made a mistake and had missed a travel.

Via Twitter:

The offensive player gathers the ball while on his right foot. He then takes a step with his left foot (step 1) into a hop step, landing first with his right foot (step 2) and then illegally with his left (step 3). We missed this one – it is a traveling violation. https://t.co/BqMAoZHgIu

Having a Twitter account hasn’t always worked out for the NBRA. Their explanations of what many would consider to be violations have often stood in the face of common sense. To that end, they’ve sometimes been mocked on social media, which is against their goal of having the social channel in the first place. But this play with Harden was a particular sore subject with fans around the league, and it was right of them in to make a comment.

LeBron James is seemingly and ageless wonder. The Los Angeles Lakers forward is still one of the most athletic players to ever grace an NBA court, and despite his obvious physical decline, that’s not to say he’s a slouch out there. He’s not exactly late-career Boris Diaw just yet.

But LeBron is now 34 years old, and as such there are other players on the floor with him at any given time that have a bit more bounce than The King. James found that out the hard way on Tuesday night as the Lakers took on the Brooklyn Nets in New York.

During a play early in the first quarter, James drove to the basket only to be rejected by Brooklyn’s Jarrett Allen at the rim.